Josh Johnson to be out until late May, according to Jon Morosi

According to Fox Sports' Jon Morosi in an afternoon tweet, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Josh Johnson will be out with his injury until "late May." The first we heard of Johnson having a problem was back on April 26, when he was forced to make a start because of tightness in his triceps where it meets his biceps.

Blue Jays may not have Josh Johnson back until late May. They hope Ricky Romero can hold down the rotation spot until then. @mlbonfox

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 6, 2013

Johnson has made only four starts, throwing just 19.2 innings with the Blue Jays in 2013 after being acquired from the Miami Marlins in the offseason. He is sporting a 6.86 ERA and 1.881 WHIP. His last start came against the Yankees on April 21, when he threw 5.1 innings of 4-run, 8-hit ball striking out 4 while walking 3. When he was placed on the 15-day disabled list last Thursday his condition was upgraded from "tightness" to "inflammation." As noted by Tom Dakers in that post, the fact that Johnson was only placed retroactively to April 29th (instead of his last game on the 21st) meant that his injury was probably more serious than the Blue Jays have led on.

An MRI was done to look for ligament damage on April 27, but it came back negative; however he is still experiencing discomfort in his right triceps.

The club has eight players on the disabled list: Josh Johnson (15-day), Sergio Santos (15-day), Michael Schwimer (15-day), Kyle Drabek (60-day), Drew Hutchison (60-day), Dustin McGowan (60-day), Luis Perez (60-day), Jose Reyes (60-day).

The 29-year old right hander will be a free agent at the end of the 2013 season.

More to come.